


What might have been

by HobbitKL



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25608412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HobbitKL/pseuds/HobbitKL
Summary: Short story from Lin’s perspective after Korra opened the portals to the spirit world in the end of season 2. Sometimes you just wonder what could have been even though you don’t want anything in your life to change.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Tenzin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In my mind it must have something they both thought about. Even though the series only give us "Lin and I had been growing apart for quite some time" we all know that one of the main issues where kids. They both had their parents legacy to think about and i think Tenzin had it for the worst. He had the weight of an entire culture and bending ability on his shoulders.   
> I actually do believe that if changes had been made in Aangs lifetime that there was a pretty good change he and Lin would have stayed together.

A lot of problems had emerged since the avatar fought the big dark spirit of Unalaq and Vaato fused into one. The City was crawling with vines, and spirits in the color of the rainbow were to find on every corner.  
It had been a nightmare!  
People were angry and wanted both the avatar and the police to do something and no matter what they did nothing changed. The vines where there to stay and so was the spirits. Some more polite than others, Lin wanted to add as Korra gave up for the day.  
  
As that wasn’t enough change to the city in one get go but now, they got strange reports from the townspeople. A non-bender wrecking a shop with his new air bending skills. And more reports were to follow, and Mako looked more and more beaten up as the day caught on.

“ **We should talk to Korra and Tenzin about this** ” Even though Makos voice sounded professional about it all, Lin sensed it clearly. Everything had been weird between him and Korra since they broke up. Lin understood well enough. But right now, her thoughts where elsewhere.

“ **Yeah. I just can’t believe this is happening** ” Lin looked at the reports one last time before leaving them on her desk and followed Mako out.

“ **What do you think is going on, Chief?** ” Mako asked with a concerned look in his eyes.

“ **No clue. But I bet it has something to do with both the Avatar and spirit stuff I don’t get anyway”** Lin shrug her shoulders and tried to sound annoyed and like she didn’t care how it happened but only about what they needed to do about it.

  
  
It was far from the truth and on their journey to Air temple Island her thoughts started traveling to every corner of the universe with unanswered questions.  
When they arrived at the Island everyone was already outside looking at Bumi throwing his arms around in the air with a peculiar expression on his face. It was hard not to look at it.

“ **Invisible spirit-monster attack?”** Lin stopped in front of Tenzin still looking at the show with her arms planted on her waist as usual.

 **“Lin you won’t believe this. Bumi just started airbending!** ” Mako and Lin shared a look before turning around.

“ **I’m afraid his’ not the only one.** ”

“ **What?!** ” everyone shouted at the same time clearly surprised by the information.

Mako started to explain about the guy the evening before who blasted him out of nowhere and got away without a trace. Lin started walking away as Mako talked to Korra. What seemed to be a bit awkward and she didn’t want to have any part in that. Apparently, she was not the only one with that idea.

“ **Do you think there’s more?** ” Lin should have been better prepared for Tenzin and the hope in his voice. But she felt herself tense up and swallow hard. Not because she didn’t want airbenders to roam the world. She did. She understood the importance. Well, at least now she did. She didn’t when she was younger and look where that had gotten them.

“ **I don’t know but one can hope** ” she said with the best smile she could muster. He of cause saw right through her but before he could ask anything, he was interrupted by Bumi who took a hold of Lins arms and shock her. Much to her dismay.

“ **Linny! You won’t believe it! Turns out I had it in me all along!** ” Even though Bumi sounded incredibly happy about this new ability Lin couldn’t help but smile a bit sadly.  
_Turns out I had it in me all along.  
_The amount of hours that poor man had tried to show the world that he was as good as any bender. She could se him as a child again. Granted he was a lot older than her but there had always been something about the situation. Two powerful benders as Aang and Katara having a son without any bending abilities.

“ **I’m.. I’m happy for you Bumi** ” He wasn’t really listening but already back to fighting the airmonster with Kya looking oh so tired at her brother. Lin was actually not sure if she was happy.

“ **Lin? Are you okay** ” Tenzin looked worried when he actually should be jumping around happy with his brother! At least that what she thought.

“ **Yeah fine. Just a lot of chaos as usual. Never getting a day off** ” she brushed him off and returned to the boat when she saw Mako walking away in a very awkward manner. Lin just hoped by the spirits that the awkwardness stopped sooner for him than it did for her and Tenzin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very short and just a bit of fill in before they actually get to talk. I just wanted a clean break from chapter one to chapter three.

Vine bending. Politics. Falling buildings. Chaos was a light word to use.  
And now. New airbenders climbing Kioshi’s bridge and refusing to come down.

“ **Come down immediately or we are forced to take action!** ”

Lin probably wasn’t the best person in the world to talk down someone in distress on top of a bridge but she had no idea how else she should get into his big head. The sound of Oogie didn’t help on her stress level but as the Avatar flew up to the poor lad Lin felt a sigh leave her body.

And as everything looked to turn out better than before. Raiko arrived and made everything worse once again.

“ **Just for once couldn’t he just stay at home with his wife and leave us all to do our job!** ” Lins fingers tried to ease the tension in her head and she had not calculated that Tenzins ears always had been better than everyone elses.

“ **Still not much for politics?** ” Lin looked over at him beaming with happiness and somehow it made it all worse.

“ **No not really. It’s nothing but trouble** ” Trying her best to keep it to light conversation hoping he would buy it since he was happy and hopefully thinking about the lighter future with airbenders at every corner.

He didn’t.

“ **Lin can we talk?** ” Tenzin laid a hand on her shoulder waiting for her answer. She didn’t want to. With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes. She didn’t answer and as Korra came back the attention got back to her and the problems ahead. She listened halfheartedly and tried to think of an escape plan.

But as she tried to walk away Tenzins voiced reached her again.

“ **Please.** ” Korra looked between the two and concluded that this was none of her business and walked over to the new airbender offering him help to get up on Oogie.

“ **Tenzin. There’s nothing to talk about** ” She protested with her arms crossed

“ **Don’t give me that** ” He answered almost hopelessly remembering how stubborn she was.

“ **Fine! I’ll try to see if I can get off work** ” She hoped she couldn’t. She hoped she could go home, take a long hot bath and forget everything about the feelings and thoughts. Forget about the fact that Tenzin seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.


	3. Chapter 3

As expected, he was meditating when she finally got the time to go out to the Island. Even though she had deliberately tried to get more work to do there wasn’t enough for her to justify staying away. Mako was still at his desk when she left merely because he was waiting for her to leave before he could go to sleep under his desk. Stubborn child.

She stopped a few meters from the gazebo trying to pull her thoughts together and be just as stone-faced as possible. Trying not to show any emotions at all and thereby not giving him any ammunition to guide his questions.

“ **Come sit** ” For a second Lin looked confused. Looked behind her and concluded that he had a sixth sense or something, since he already knew she was here.

“ **I saw the light from the boat** ” there was an amusement in his voice and Lin tried to not roll her eyes at him as she walked closer.

“ **Sit down** ” it was weird that it was him steering the entire conversation, but she couldn’t find the words. Instead she obeyed and sat down beside him with her legs crossed, looking over the water.

It was almost dark now, and the gazebo was lighted by small oil laps giving it all a warm atmosphere. She thought back to her memories of Aang as she looked at the statue in the distance. When they sat here, and he listened to her problems with her mother. Tried to teach her to meditate. Didn’t work well but she appreciated the offer and the time.  
Tenzin was not Aang but something about the situation felt the same.

“ **Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?** ” Tenzin sounded relaxed. As if the mere conversation didn’t startle him as it startled her.

“ **No.** ” A light chuckle left him by her stubbornness and directness in her answer. She didn’t want to tell him. Which she had tried to tell him all day. But he insisted on talking.

“ **Alright.** ” Was that it?

Lin looked to the side. Finally gazing at him since she arrived. He sat there with his eyes closed. A small smile on his face. How could he be relaxed? Didn’t he see it? Didn’t he understand the importance of this?  
The minutes went by and Lin thought it felt more like hours of complete silence before she cracked.  
It annoyed her that he knew the trick. The trick to get her to talk was to just wait until she herself started to burst everything out.

“ **There are Airbenders again! We don’t know how many, but they are here.** ” She closed her eyes not wanting to look at anything right know.

“ **Yes** ” He still sounded so calm.

“ **Look I’m happy for you and Aang and the entire balance of Airbenders roaming the earth again. Don’t get me wrong. I truly am.** ” She couldn’t open her eyes even though she wanted to. She couldn’t look at him. She felt pathetic.

“ **But?** ” His question shouldn’t have been a surprise but it was. She opened her eyes again and looked at him. The warm light from the lamps giving him an even calmer look. Like he had accepted everything. It made her angry but mostly she felt hurt.  
She turned away from his calm gray eyes.

“ **I’m sorry. I just thought that if Aang had opened the portals instead of Korra.. then..** ” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

“ **Then I wouldn’t have to worry about the legacy as much** ” Tenzin finished it the way he himself would have. And it was spot on. He was right. No one knew her better than him.

“ **I don’t expect you to say you regret anything knowing what you know now! Because I wouldn’t if I were you** ” He had a wife who clearly loved him. Four more or less adorable children. He loved his family and she knew it. What they had had was in the past. “ **But I wondered. I don’t like the fact it was the first thing that went through my mind. I felt… Sad.** ”

Tenzin hadn’t said anything for a while and Lin thought to herself that their friendship where effectively ruined as well now. She wished she had just stayed quiet. Ride the storm out and ignore her feelings as she usually did.

“ **I don’t regret anything** ” Lin let out a sigh of relief of hearing his voice. She wasn’t hurt by the words because she knew him. He would never regret getting his kids. She would never expect that of him. It was nice to know she still knew that much about him.

“ **But** ” She barely noticed his voice trembled a bit as he added on.

Lin lifted her head and turned to look at him with confusion in her eyes. She had felt so relieved to hear him speak and seem to accept what she was feeling without her really saying it clearly. She had felt relief not being alone with her thoughts anymore. Not that she had dreamed up anything. She was way to logically thinking to do that. But now. He added to his statement and it made her uneasy.

“ **But?** ” She asked quietly almost afraid to hope on anything.

“ **You were a big part of my life. I have known you all my life and we spend most of our adult life together, even though I knew you would never change your mind. I did wonder. How could I not** ” He had locked his eyes with her and right know it just felt like they were back.

Back to being each other’s best friend. Back to being able to tell each other everything.  
Lin knew he loved his wife and his life. That would never change. But to know that he himself had let his mind wonder. It was a pleasant feeling.

She looked at him with a small smile on her face before she adverted her eyes back to the water. Back to the statue of Avatar Aang.

“ **How do you feel?** ” His voice was quietly concerned as he spoke

“ **I’m good. We’re good, Tenzin** ” Her voice was soft as she let herself feel both the happiness of the new future the airbenders brought with them and the sadness coming along with knowing what she knew now. But they were good. So, for now she would be sitting, trying, and failing to meditate while letting her thoughts wonder freely. A single tear found its way down her cheek, but the small smile never left her.  
They were good.


End file.
